Modern Ottomans and Poufs
The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw sweeping social change and major scientific advances — both of which contributed to a new aesthetic: modernism. Rejecting the rigidity of Victorian artistic conventions, modernists sought a new means of expression. References to the natural world and ornate classical embellishments gave way to the sleek simplicity of the Machine Age. Architect Philip Johnson characterized the hallmarks of modernism as “machine-like simplicity, smoothness or surface [and] avoidance of ornament.”
Early practitioners of modernist design include the De Stijl (“The Style”) group, founded in the Netherlands in 1917, and the Bauhaus School, founded two years later in Germany.
Followers of both groups produced sleek, spare designs — many of which became icons of daily life in the 20th century. The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics. While Bauhaus principals Marcel Breuer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe created furniture from mass-produced, chrome-plated steel, American visionaries like Charles and Ray Eames worked in materials as novel as molded plywood and fiberglass. Today, Breuer’s Wassily chair, Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona chair — crafted with his romantic partner, designer Lilly Reich — and the Eames lounge chair are emblems of progressive design and vintage originals are prized cornerstones of collections.
It’s difficult to overstate the influence that modernism continues to wield over designers and architects — and equally difficult to overstate how revolutionary it was when it first appeared a century ago. But because modernist furniture designs are so simple, they can blend in seamlessly with just about any type of décor. Don’t overlook them.
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Upholstery
2010s Portuguese Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Metal, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Marble
20th Century American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Metal, Chrome
2010s Swiss Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Leather, Wood
2010s Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Leather
2010s French Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Upholstery, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Fabric, Wood
2010s American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Wood
2010s American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Wood, Cotton, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Lacquer
2010s Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Fabric, Wood
2010s American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Shagreen, Wood, Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Upholstery
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Iron
2010s Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Leather
2010s Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Metal
2010s American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Upholstery
2010s Spanish Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Cotton, Wool, Feathers, Down
2010s Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Wool
2010s Spanish Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Other
2010s Turkish Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Fabric, Bouclé
2010s American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Velvet, Wenge
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Rope
2010s American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Velvet, Lacquer, Maple
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Fabric
2010s American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Maple
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Velvet, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Fiberglass
2010s American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Lacquer
2010s Spanish Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Velvet, Wood
2010s North American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Maple
2010s American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Brass
2010s Spanish Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Velvet
2010s Portuguese Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Fabric, Foam
2010s Panamanian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Faux Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Leather, Faux Leather, Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Rope
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Fabric
2010s Canadian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Sheepskin
2010s Turkish Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Bouclé
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Upholstery
2010s Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Steel
2010s French Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Upholstery
2010s Portuguese Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Metal, Steel